Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services: Travellers

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in implementing the recommendations of the report by Leeds GATE, the University of Dundee and the University of York Enhancing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Peoples’ Trust: using maternity and early years’ health services and dental health services as exemplars of mainstream provision, published on 14 September 2018.

Lord Kamall: This report informed inclusion health guidance, which includes Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. However, its recommendations were not intended for implementation. The report was funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Policy Research Programme in June 2015 to support national policy development in health, care and public health systems.Subsequent policy development in this area includes the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities’ Inclusion Health: applying All Our Health online resource. This provides guidance for health and care professionals to prevent ill-health and promote wellbeing for people in inclusion health groups in everyday practice, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people. The guidance reiterates many of the recommendations in the Leeds GATE report, such as providing flexible services, supporting registration with a general practitioner and increasing collaborative working. It also includes ensuring individuals can access services through outreach activities in the community.

Coronavirus: Databases

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Kamall on 20 April (HL7747), whether the "Immunisation and Vaccination Management Capability" includes non-COVID vaccinations such as influenza; what is the legal basis for that capability; and what are the legal bases for the processing by Palantir of (1) individual-level, (2) identifiable, and (3) named, patient data for the "Trust Care Coordination Solution".

Lord Kamall: The Immunisation and Vaccination Management Capability includes non-COVID-19 vaccinations, such as influenza and is compliant with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), specifically in the category of “provision of health and social care” and “public interest in the area of public health”. The Capability does not process patient-identifiable data.National Health Service trusts using the Trust Care Co-ordination Solution remain the controllers of patient data and appoint processors such as Palantir to undertake processing tasks at its direction or on its behalf. The Solution directly supports patient care delivered by NHS trusts under the UK GDPR as the processing of “public task/official authority”

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: Standards

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Kamall on 17 May (HL147), how the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appraisals of (1) Sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy), and (2) Tucatinib (Tukysa) with trastuzumab and capecitabine, were included in the statistic cited as 100 per cent of guidance of new medicines being issued within three months of a licence in 2021/22, where NICE proceeded to appraisal.

Lord Kamall: The appraisal of sacituzumab govitecan is not included in this statistic as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not yet issued its final guidance. The appraisal of tucatinib is not recorded by the timeliness metric for 2021/22 as NICE’s final guidance was issued in the 2022/23 business year.NICE issued final guidance within 90 days of licensing for 100% of published appraisals of new active substances where timelines were within NICE’s control. Topics outside of this timeframe were impacted by external factors such as where a company requested a delay to NICE’s evaluation.

Diabetes: Drugs and Medical Equipment

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)Research to Reality, published in April, whatdiscussions they have had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about embedding patient reported outcomes in their (1) methods, and (2) processes, for reviewing (a) medicines, and (b) medical devices.

Lord Kamall: The Department participated in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) recent review of its methods and processes for health technology evaluations. Patient-reported outcome measures are embedded throughout NICE’s process and methods for reviewing medicines and medical devices.

Infectious Diseases: Medical Treatments

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether clinical guidelines have been produced about the prescription of longer courses of anti-virals for refractory infections in immunocompromised individuals; if not, what assessment they have made of the impact of a lack of guidelines on doctors’ ability to issue appropriate prescriptions; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 Medicines Delivery Unit’s decision-making processes on treatment access for patients with immunodeficiency.

Lord Kamall: Clinical access policies for the routinely available COVID-19 treatments in the National Health Service apply to treatment decisions being made by clinicians working with COVID Medicine Delivery Units in England. These decisions typically reflect the use within a medicine’s marketing authorisation, including the dose and duration of treatment to be provided, although there are mechanisms which allow the consideration of off-label use. The RAPID C-19 collaboration, led by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, monitors any emerging evidence from clinical trials which informs these clinical access decisions. The clinical access policy states that the antivirals molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir+ritonaivir should be taken for five days. Any treatment duration beyond the marketing authorisation is not included in this policy unless it is supported by evidence on the benefit and safety in clinical trials. No specific assessment of the impact of prescription guidelines and the COVID-19 Medicine Delivery Units’ decision-making process has been made.

Maternity Services: Ethnic Groups

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans theyhave to improve maternity (1) curriculums, and (2) guidance, in order to better assess women and babies from (a) black, and (b) ethnic minority, communities.

Lord Kamall: Health Education England (HEE) is working with NHS England to review and update the existing ‘Cultural Competence’ e-learning resources to support clinicians to understand culture and health and how it may influence healthcare outcomes. HEE is hosting a meeting on maternity education and training in July 2022, which will focus on the education and training implications of the Ockenden report. This will include course content and curriculum, career development and transition to work.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considers the need to reduce health inequalities in developing its evidence-based guideline recommendations. Where there is evidence of differences in symptoms, diagnosis, or treatment for different population groups, NICE seeks to ensure that this is addressed in its guidelines.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byLord Kamall on 18 May (HL158 and HL159) and 20 May (HL160), what steps they are taking to improvethe data they need to ensure thatthey can (1) make informed decisions regarding policies to protect the immunocompromised, and (2) deliver treatmentswhere needed.

Lord Kamall: NHS Digital is working with data sources in primary and secondary care to improve the access to relevant data which identifies those who are immunocompromised and build a technical platform to identify such patients for different interventions, such as treatments and vaccines. The Department has also established the Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel which studies high risk patient cohorts which could be eligible for COVID-19 therapies. The panel will provide advice to the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers on eligibility for treatments. In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Research is commissioning a rapid study on those who remain vulnerable to poor outcomes from COVID-19 despite vaccination.

General Practitioners: Equality

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultations they have had with the devolved administrations tosecure equal GP provision across the UK.

Lord Kamall: Departmental officials have regular discussions with the devolved administrations to share best practice and information related to general practitioner provision in the United Kingdom.

Blood: Contamination

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any payments were made to families of those who were infected by contaminated blood since the settlement in 1990, and the opening of the present inquiry into contaminated blood; and if such payments were made, what years they took place; how many payments were made; and what was the total amount paid.

Lord Kamall: The information requested on payments made between 1990 and the start of the Infected Blood Inquiry in 2017 is not held centrally.Since 2017, support for those affected has been provided through four national infected blood support schemes. In England, the England Infected Blood Support Scheme is operated by the NHS Business Services Authority. Prior to the current scheme, support was provided by five independently operated schemes. These provided a range of lump sums, regular payments and smaller one-off payments to meet the immediate needs of individuals infected with hepatitis C or HIV, those who were co-infected and their families.

Ministry of Justice

Legal Aid Scheme: Fees and Charges

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatplans they have to introduce an immediate 25 per cent increase in legal aid fees.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government is consulting on a package of proposals which includes a 15% uplift on fees across most legal aid fee schemes. This, alongside the longer-term reforms we propose, will increase spend by up to £135m a year - taking expected criminal legal aid spend to £1.2 billion per year.

Powers of Attorney

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plansthey have toprevent people from taking advantage of vulnerable people by obtaining Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs).

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Lasting powers of attorney (LPA) offer vital protections where someone lacks the mental capacity to make their own decisions. My department recently consulted on how to increase safeguards for vulnerable people during their creation and this is set out in the Government response which was published on 19 May 2022. Copies are available in the House Library.Proposals include the introduction of identification checks to deter fraud and improvements to the witnessing and objection processes to protect donors against abuse and undue pressure.

Judiciary: Hong Kong

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Scott of Bybrook on 31 March (HL7587), which (1) retired judges who served in courts in England or Wales, or (2) British citizens, continue to serve as judges in Hong Kong's judicial system, if any.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: There are six retired UK judges who on 31 March, issued a statement confirming their continued participation as Non- Permanent Members on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.Lord Phillips of Worth MatraversLord Neuberger of AbbotsburyLord SumptionLord Walker of GestingthorpeLord Collins of MapesburyLord Hoffmann

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

UK Trade with EU: Agricultural Products

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government when negotiations will resume with the European Commission regarding Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Veterinary Arrangements and the Customs Code as part of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have engaged in negotiations with the European Union in good faith. After almost two years of negotiations, we are asking the Commission to go back to Member States for a new mandate, that would provide the flexibility to fix the current issues facing the people of Northern Ireland.Our preference is for a negotiated outcome - but we cannot wait to fix the issues facing the people of Northern Ireland. We will take steps to stabilise the situation in Northern Ireland and bring parity to everyone living in the UK, but we remain open to further talks if we can fix the issues with the Protocol through a negotiated settlement. Meanwhile, the legislation we will bring forward will fix the domestic impact of the Protocol, stabilise the situation in Northern Ireland and form an executive - protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement - without undermining the integrity of either the EU or the UK's single market.

Shireen Abu Aqleh

Baroness Janke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the presence of armed Israeli forces at St Joseph's hospital on 13 May, (2) the actions of the Israeli forces towards attendees of the funeral of Shireen Abu Aqleh, and (3) the confiscation of Palestinian flags by Israeli forces at the funeral.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: During a call with the Israeli Ambassador on 19 May, Minister Milling made clear the UK's sadness at the recent death of Shireen Abu Aqleh and the deeply disturbing scenes at her funeral in Jerusalem. She urged a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into the events. The UK Ambassador to Israel has reiterated the importance of an investigation with the Israeli authorities. We call for urgent steps to de-escalate tensions and for restraint in the use of force. The safety of journalists across the globe is vital and they must be protected when carrying out their critical work.

Northern Ireland Protocol

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what technical meetings have taken place with the European Commission on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland; how many such meetings have taken place; and when each of these meetings took place.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Foreign Secretary, as UK Co-chair of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee, and her predecessor Lord Frost met their EU counterpart, Vice President Maroš Šefčovič on 26 occasions since September 2021 to discuss the Northern Ireland Protocol. This also includes one meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee on 21 February 2022. These discussions were supported by approximately 300 hours of negotiations over 6 months by UK and EU officials, covering sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS), customs, VAT and excise, goods, subsidy control, medicines, and governance.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Janke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Israel plans to expel over 1,000 Palestinians from their villages in Masafer Yatta.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. Our opposition to the demolition of Palestinian property and the evictions of Palestinians from their homes is long-standing. We call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation.

Mohammad Ghassan Ahmad Mansour

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning reports of the imprisonment, without charge or trial, of Mohammad Ghassan Ahmad Mansour.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We remain committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention and raise this with the Israeli Ministry of Justice. We call on the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law and either charge or release detainees.

United Arab Emirates: Politics and Government

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister has held talks with the new president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bid Zayed Al-Nahyan; and if so, what issues were discussed.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Prime Minister visited Abu Dhabi on 15 May to pay respects following the death of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and to offer his condolences to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the people of the United Arab Emirates. The Prime Minister also congratulated His Highness on his appointment as President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation and collaboration between the UK and the United Arab Emirates.

Shireen Abu Aqleh

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Catholic leaders on 16 May regarding the actions of the Israeli police at St Joseph Hospital during Shireen Abu Aqleh's funeral, what representations they have made to the government of Israel, including to Prime Minister Naftali Bennet on this matter.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: During a call with the Israeli Ambassador on 19 May, Minister Milling made clear the UK's sadness at the recent death of Shireen Abu Aqleh and the deeply disturbing scenes at her funeral in Jerusalem. She urged a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into the events. The UK Ambassador to Israel has reiterated the importance of an investigation with the Israeli authorities. We call for urgent steps to de-escalate tensions and for restraint in the use of force. The safety of journalists across the globe is vital and they must be protected when carrying out their critical work.

Finland and Sweden: NATO

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement on 18 May that Turkey will not approve NATO membership for Finland and Sweden unless certain conditions are met, what recent discussions the Prime Minister has had with the President of Turkey.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Prime Minister discussed the applications of Finland and Sweden for NATO membership with President Erdoğan on 20 May. The Prime Minister underlined the UK's support for the rapid accession of both countries, who will add to the collective security of the Alliance. He welcomed Turkey's plans to discuss with Sweden and Finland the issues raised by the President, and reiterated the UK's willingness to support the accession process.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning reports of Israeli forces using a girl as a human shield, and then bombing her home in Jenin, on 13 May.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the treatment of Palestinian children. We continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children. We also regularly raise the importance of the Israeli security force's adherence to the principles of necessity and proportionality when defending its legitimate security interest.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to reviewing the rate of inflation figure used for state pensions.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Department for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefits and pensions. CPI in the year to September is the latest figure that the Department for Work and Pensions can use to allow sufficient time for the required operational changes before new rates can be introduced at the start of the new financial year. All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. The Department for Work and Pensions decisions regarding benefits/pensions for 2022/23 were announced to Parliament on 25 November 2021 and the increase of 3.1 per cent from April 2022 was agreed by both Houses of Parliament.

Social Security Benefits

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plansthey have to introduce aquarterly welfare assessment for those in receipt of benefits.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: There are no plans to introduce a quarterly welfare assessment for those in receipt of benefits.

Pensions

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government what data is (1) collected, and (2) published, relating to trust-based pension (a) Defined Contribution schemes, or (b) MasterTrust schemes, in any year since 2015, to showhow many people have accessed their pension funds; and whether they purchased an (i) annuity, (ii) income drawdown, (iii) uncrystallised pension fund lump sum, or (iv) withdrew funds in full.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publish data on their website, based on what is reported to them, on the number of flexible payments made from pensions, the number of individuals who have received these flexible payments and the total value of all flexible payments. As this includes all flexible pension payments, the data represents a proportion of payments made from trust-based Defined Contribution (DC) schemes as well as contract-based schemes. As of December 2021, 1.9 million individuals have taken 16.0 million flexible payments from their DC pensions since the introduction of Pension Freedoms in 2015. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) publishes data on their website from trust-based DC schemes on an annual basis. This publication provides a high-level snapshot of the current landscape of occupational DC trust-based pension provision in the UK, including information on the number, memberships, and assets of schemes. The most recent publication is TPR’s 12th edition, DC Trust: scheme return data 2021 to 2022, which includes data captured since 2015. Included in this, they report the number of members for whom each scheme is directly providing (self-annuitisation) or facilitating (lifetime annuities) annuity payments. At the end of 2021, there were 1,000 memberships receiving lifetime annuities, excluding hybrid schemes (which have a mixture of guarantees and investments), and less than 1000 memberships receiving self-annuitisations, also excluding hybrid schemes. Number of memberships, or number of pension pots, does not equate to number of individuals, as many people are members of more than one pension scheme. The data in this publication from TPR does not capture all pensioner members, as some members will have retired but transferred out of their scheme. Members who transfer out of a trust-based DC scheme and access their pension savings via a contract-based provider will be included in the data collected by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and published in their Retirement Income Market Data. However, data is not currently collected on volumes of members that transfer out of trust-based DC schemes with the intention of accessing their savings. The FCA data shows that from October 2015- March 2021, over 3.3 million DC pots have been accessed in the contract-based market. This data is presented in Table 1 and can be found on the FCA webpage: Retirement income market data 2020/21. This data is also provided broken down by year in Annex A. Table 1: Volumes and proportion of retirement income products, October 2015- March 2021 (FCA Retirement Income Data)ProductTotal volumeProportion of all pots accessedAnnuities purchased in period390,69712%New drawdown policies entered and not fully withdrawn in period993,03330%Pots where first partial UFPLS payment taken and not fully withdrawn in period130,2474%Full cash withdrawals from pots being accessed for first time in period1,831,98255%Total pots accessed for the first time3,345,960100% *Volumes prior to April 2018 were drawn from a representative sample of firms. The FCA started collecting data from all regulated firms providing retirement income products from 1 April 2018.

Pension Wise: Telephone Services

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people (1) have booked, or (2) had appointments, in each calendar quarter of (a) 2021, and (b) 2022, with (i) the MoneyHelper Pension helpline, (ii)the PensionWise/MoneyHelper Pensions on divorce helpline, (iii)the PensionWise/MoneyHelper Pension safeguarding helpline, and (iv)the PensionWise/MoneyHelper mid-life pension helpline.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The information requested is available on the MoneyHelper pension take up data dashboard, where it is published quarterly by financial year. It is provided quarterly by calendar year below:2021MoneyHelper Pensions Helpline*MoneyHelper Pensions Virtual appointments**Pension Wise appointments attendedPension Wise appointments arrangedQ171,52212534,78445,376Q256,0899332,72745,221Q339,16611329,06138,344Q436,46510721,27027,6202021 Total203,242438117,842156,561*The Pensions Helpline is a general pensions guidance service that anyone can contact with any pensions query – this service does not require appointments booked and is delivered across multiple channels. As such, this data includes the following:Helpline callsWebchatOnline enquiriesAttendance at outreach events**MoneyHelper Pensions virtual appointments cover Divorce appointments, Mid-Life Pensions Review appointments for the self-employed, and Pension Loss appointments. Data on Pensions Safeguarding appointments has not yet been published.2022MoneyHelper Pension helpline*MoneyHelper Pensions Virtual appointments**Pension Wise appointments attendedPension Wise appointments arrangedQ152,7799331,62041,624*The Pensions Helpline is a general pensions guidance service that anyone can contact with any pensions query – this service does not require appointments booked and is delivered across multiple channels. As such, this data includes the following:Helpline callsWebchatOnline enquiriesAttendance at outreach events**MoneyHelper Pensions virtual appointments cover Divorce appointments, Mid-Life Pensions Review appointments for the self-employed, and Pension Loss appointments. Data on Pensions Safeguarding appointments has not yet been published.

Pension Wise: Standards

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the customer satisfaction ratings for the PensionWise service for each year since the service began; and what are the figures for the past four quarters.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The below data on customer satisfaction is collected post-appointment.YearCustomer Satisfaction2016/1794%2017/1892%2018/1993%2019/2094%Prior to the formation of the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) in 2019, satisfaction data was taken from the Pension Wise annual service evaluation and was not published quarterly. During this time The Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service, and Pension Wise had in place their own Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), along with different approaches to measuring performance. MaPS wanted to have a single programme measuring performance of their three service areas in a more consistent and joined up way. During 2020/21, there was no Pension Wise evaluation because MaPS were setting in place a new evaluation programme to achieve this. Satisfaction data from 2021/22 is published quarterly by financial year on the MoneyHelper pensions take up dashboard. Pension Wise satisfaction scores for telephone appointments are provided quarterly by calendar year below – Q4 data is not yet available.QuarterCustomer Satisfaction2021/22 Q193.2%2021/22 Q293.9%2021/22 Q393.5%

Pension Wise: Telephone Services

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government howmany people had appointments with the PensionWise helpline in each calendar quarter in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020, (4) 2021, and (5) 2022.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The information requested is available on the MoneyHelper pension take up data dashboard, where it is published quarterly by financial year. It is provided quarterly by calendar year below: Calendar YearQUARTERTelephone Appts AttendedFace to Face Appts AttendedTOTAL2018Q2*6,08715,71721,8042018Q37,03517,08524,1202018Q47,95517,79125,7462019Q19,43220,64130,0732019Q211,34421,03832,3822019Q313,05121,36334,4142019Q412,38517,43729,8222020Q113,47721,58135,0582020Q223,821023,8212020Q327,363027,3632020Q427,058127,0592021Q134,783134,7842021Q232,727032,7272021Q329,061029,0612021Q421,270021,2702022Q131,620031,620*Q1 data from 2018 is not available

Food Banks

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce measures in the current parliament to eliminate the need for food banks.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. We will spend over £242bn through the welfare system in 2022/23 including £108bn on people of working age and over £134 billion on pensioners. Of the total amount, around £64 billion will be spent on supporting disabled people and people with health conditions in Great Britain. We understand the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and have taken action to support and help families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23. The recently announced package of support worth £15 billion to help households with rising energy bills, brings total government support to £37 billion. Government is also providing an additional £500 million from October to help households with the cost of essentials, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, £421m will be used to extend the Household Support Fund (October 2022 – March 2023). At least a third of the extension funding (£140m) will be spent on pensioners and at least another third (£140m) will be spent on families with children.

Treasury

Freezing of Assets: Russia

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what isthe estimated value of Russian assets frozen to date; what further consideration are they giving to other assets that should be subjectedto freezingorders; and what is the estimated value of those assets.

Baroness Penn: Relevant firms are legally obliged to report to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) if they hold frozen assets of a designated person or entity they suspect to be on the list of asset freeze targets. OFSI is currently receiving a high volume of reporting about assets being frozen relating to sanctions imposed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This information is being collated and assured. Fuller details will be released in due course and will mark a substantial increase on previous assets reported as frozen under Russia sanctions. With our international allies, we have introduced the largest and most severe economic sanctions that Russia has ever faced. These coordinated sanctions will continue to go deeper, broader and sharper, with a focus on those that can have the biggest impact.

Freezing of Assets: Libya

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the article ‘Libya’s Central Bank says no assets have been frozen in Britain’, published in the Libya Observer on 22 May, what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the statement made by the management of the Central Bank of Libya that no Libyan assets have been frozen in Britain.

Baroness Penn: The Central Bank of Libya is not designated for financial sanctions by the UN or UK. There are therefore no frozen assets in the UK belonging to Central Bank of Libya.

Cost of Living

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement from the Head of the International Monetary Fund who said on the 21 May that governments need to subsidise the cost of energy and food for the poorest members of society.

Baroness Penn: The government is providing over £37 billion of support in 2022-23 to help people with the cost of living, including an additional £15 billion of new support targeting those with the greatest need. Around three-quarters of the total support will go to vulnerable households. Millions of the most vulnerable households will receive at least £1,200 of one-off support in total this year to help with the cost of living, including for energy and food. In the long term, the best approach to managing the cost of living is to help people into work, supporting them to increase their incomes and helping them keep more of what they earn – announcements at the Spring Statement support this.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Parliament: Non-binary People

Lord Blencathra: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker when was the category of “non-binary” added to the search function onthe Parliamentary website for Members of the House of Lords; and why that category is listed given there are no current non-binary members of the House.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The category of “non-binary” was added to the search function on the Parliamentary website in December 2019. The request arose from analysis of candidates standing for election to the House of Commons in the General Election of that month, and then agreed on a bicameral basis. The addition of a non-binary option to the underlying bicameral Members database meant that the option became available as a search option on the webpages of both Houses.

House of Lords: Staff

Lord Blunkett: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many people (1) are directly employed in the House of Lords, (2) are employed by the House of Lords and do not get paid when their senior line manager is not on site, and (3) are employed in the House of Lords and work from home for either (a) part of, or (b) the whole of, the working week.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: As of 6 June 2022 the House of Lords Administration directly employs 670 individuals. The pay of employees of the House of Lords Administration is not dependent on, nor linked to, the location of their senior line manager.The House of Lords Administration has a Flexible Working policy which supports individuals to work from home. Some Member-facing services, such as Chamber facing work, Catering & Retail Services and Facilities, work predominantly on-site whilst other offices operate local arrangements whilst ensuring they meet business needs. The House of Lords Human Resources Department does not hold data on how many people employed by the House of Lords work from home for part of the working week. No employee of the House of Lords Administration is contracted to work from home for the whole of the working week.

Women and Equalities

Buildings: Disability

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to amend the Equalities Act 2010 to make it compulsory for “reasonable adjustments” to be made to the buildings open to the public which have no wheelchair access.

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they issue to businesses who do not currently have access through their main entrance for wheelchair users, including businesses which suggest access through other entrances and pubs, and restaurants that have access through kitchens; and how this guidance compares with access for persons with other protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: A full review of Part M of the Building Regulations is underway, relating to access to, and use of, buildings. It includes a research programme on the prevalence and demographics of impairment in England and ergonomic requirements of wheelchair users and experiences of disabled people. Evidence gathered will help government consider what changes can be made, including updates to statutory guidance. At present however, no change in the Equality Act 2010 of the sort mentioned in my Noble Friend’s question is envisaged. For service providers the reasonable adjustment duty in the Act is of course anticipatory, which means that those who provide services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require to ensure the disabled person does not experience a substantial disadvantage compared to their non-disabled counterparts.